Clay Cane is a New York City-based writer who is recognized for his contributions in journalism. Clay is a regular contributor for various print and online publications such as The Advocate and BET.com. He is the author of the highly anticipated novel Ball-Shaped World, which is a fictionalized account of the black and Latino ballroom scene. Also, he is the Entertainment Editor at BET.com and a member of New York Film Critics Online.
He can be reached at claycane@gmail.com.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Wow, this woman could sang. "Vesta" -- even the name sounds like someone who can blow! While there were many great singers in the sixties and seventies, the late '80s and early '90s was probably the last era of phenomenal singers in black popular music. Nowadays, if a voice like Vesta tried to make a hit song they would say, "Oh, it's just too much. We have to tone that down!" Hell, today, they would have some like Rihanna sing "Congratulations"! With the exception of Fantasia, Christina Aguleria, (yeah, Aguleria is urban to me) and very few others, the vocal powerhouse is a thing of the past.

The four-octave range diva is originally from Ohio and is supposedly the cousin of Chaka Khan (can anyone confirm?). She scored five top ten singles on the Billboard R&B charts and even sang the theme song to the legendary 1989 mini-series Women of Brewster Place. Vesta was signed to A&M records and released four albums, but 1993's Everything-N-More (post the integration of the Billboard charts) failed to deliver.

Vesta has released two albums since 1993 but she didn't match the success of her earlier work, which was nearly impossible considering the way the music industry shifted. Nonetheless, Vesta is a voice that cannot be forgotten. Check out her greatest hits.

"Sweet, Sweet Love" charted at #4 on the R&B charts... now this song is great, but the video is a cackle! All that running and hair swinging on the beach looks like a Summer's Eve commerical!

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The video for "Congratulations" looks like a comedy skit so I had to show you this live performance. Vesta sang the Billy Goat Gruff out of this song. "Congratulations" was her biggest and most memorable hit, hitting #5 on the R&B charts and marking her only song on the Billboard Hot 100 at #55... by the way, I love a big girl in a bustier -- rhinestones and all!

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Great interview with Vesta on Video Soul and Donnie Simpson saying how she "blasted" other artists. Does anyone remember who the artists were?